Ponder This

February 1999

There is a circle of grass with the radius R. We want to let a sheep eat the grass from that circle by attaching the sheep's leash on the edge of the circle. What must be the length of the leash for the sheep to eat exactly half of the grass?

This problem was sent in by Mirek Wilmer.

FYI: Although this problem may appear simple at first, the solution is actually fairly complex.

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